About KAHC

The Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors (“KAHC”) was organized as a nonprofit corporation in 1921 to promote, preserve, and protect the highway construction industry in Kentucky. The industry has changed since that time, but the association’s purpose still holds true.

KAHC News

TRIP RELEASES REPORT ON THE STATE OF RURAL ROADSKentucky fatalities rank third highest in the nationWashington, D.C. –America’s rural transportation system is in need of repairs and modernization to support economic growth and improve traffic safety in the nation’s Heartland, but the US faces a $211 billion backlog in funding for needed repairs and improvements to the rural transportation system. This is according to a new report released today by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit. The report, Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America’s Heartland, evaluates the safety and condition of the nation’s rural roads and bridges and finds that America’s rural transportation system is in need of immediate improvements to address deficient roads and bridges, high crash rates, and inadequate connectivity and capacity.

The importance of the rural transportation system as the backbone of the nation’s energy, food and fiber supply chain has been heightened during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the nation’s rural transportation challenges will require a significant increase in investment, but the tremendous decrease in vehicle travel that has occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to reduce state transportation revenues by at least 30 percent – approximately $50 billion - over the next 18 months.

The report finds that the rate of traffic fatalities on Kentucky’s non-Interstate, rural roads is significantly higher than the fatality rate on all other roads in the state – 2.55 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel vs. 0.83 - and is the third highest in the nation. There were 465 fatalities on Kentucky's non-interstate, rural roads in 2018. Rural roads are more likely to have narrow lanes, limited shoulders, sharp curves, exposed hazards, pavement drop-offs, steep slopes and limited clear zones along roadsides.

Throughout these uncertain times, KAHC will continue to post beneficial information as it becomes available to us. Please know that it is our intent to make sure that information that is being shared is confirmed and accurate to the best of our ability while getting this information to you in a timely manner, given the constantly emerging news and directives from the federal and state government. Please see below for some useful links we have identified thus far.